How to watch March Madness: Live stream the Men's and Women's NCAA Basketball Tournaments in 2026
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Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect (left); David Butler II-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect (right)
The men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments are officially underway. We've rounded up everything you need to know about how to watch March Madness, including the cheapest ways to live stream both tournaments.
The UConn Huskies and Florida Gators are the defending champions of the women's and men's tournaments, respectively. Both teams have had excellent seasons this year (with the UConn women going undefeated in the regular season) and secured No. 1 seeds. Both teams are vying to go back-to-back, but they'll face some stiff competition this year. On the women's side, other top seeds include UCLA, Texas, and South Carolina. The other men's No. 1 seeds are Duke, Michigan, and Arizona.
The men's tournament started a day earlier than the women's, so Saturday marks the beginning of the men's second round. The first round brought a few potentially bracket-busting upsets, including a No. 12 High Point victory over No. 5 Wisconsin and a No. 11 Texas win over No. 6 BYU. There was also a close call between Duke and No. 16 Siena, but the Blue Devils were ultimately able to pull ahead in the second half, with a 71-65 final score.
Keep reading to learn how to watch the men's and women's tournaments. If you're hoping to live stream every game from both tournaments in one place, we recommend DirecTV MySports, which is offering a special introductory deal for new customers. We'll break down what you need to know about the app below and highlight some other streaming services that will be able to help you watch. You can find a full schedule of daily tip-off times, fixtures, and networks at the bottom of this page.
How to watch March Madness in the US
The Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament games will air on CBS, TNT, TBS, and truTV in the US. Games from the women's tournament will air across to ESPN family of channels, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, and ABC.
If you're a cord-cutter looking to watch every single game in one place, we recommend DirecTV MySports. The month-to-month sports-centric package carries around 20 popular channels (including all of the above). Local channel coverage can sometimes vary by market, so it's worth double-checking to make sure that CBS is available in your ZIP code. The plan also carries ESPN Unlimited access at no extra cost. MySports subscriptions typically cost $65 a month, but a new deal will knock your first two months down to $45 a month after a five-day free trial.
If you don't mind cobbling together a few different streaming services or you're only interested in specific games, you can opt for Paramount Plus and HBO Max. Paramount Plus carries CBS live streams in its Premium tier, which costs $14 a month. Premium also unlocks ad-free on-demand streaming and Showtime content. From now until March 31, you can get your first two months of Premium for just $3 a month. HBO Max carries live sports coverage from Warner Bros. networks (TNT, TBS, truTV) in its ad-free tiers, which start at $18.49 a month.
If you're only interested in streaming the women's tournament, you can do it all with ESPN Unlimited, which offers full access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, and ESPN on ABC content. Subscriptions cost $30 a month and unlock a massive selection of other sports programming.
Fubo also carries ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, and ABC in its Sports + News package. Sports + News offers around 26 channels and access to ESPN Unlimited. Viewers can also catch CBS here, but those hoping to watch TNT, TBS, and truTV games from the men's tournament will have better luck with the aforementioned DirecTV plan. Fubo plans start at $56 a month, but new customers can get $10 off their first month after a five-day free trial.
How to watch March Madness from anywhere
Basketball fans traveling outside the US can still access their usual watch options with the help of a VPN. VPNs, or virtual private networks, are handy tech tools that allow people to alter the virtual location on their devices. This way, they can use their go-to websites and apps from anywhere, just like they could back home. VPNs are also instant ways to boost cybersecurity. The services we've recommended today require US methods of payment, so this option is best for Americans who are simply traveling abroad right now.
NordVPN is our No. 1 pick. It's a reliable, tried-and-true service with a 30-day money-back guarantee if you find that it's not what you're looking for. You can learn more in our NordVPN review.
March Madness schedule
The times, networks, and fixtures for the upcoming men's and women's first games can be found below. All times are listed in ET.
Note: VPN use is illegal in certain countries, and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content may constitute a breach of the terms of use for some services. Business Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.